The Hardest Goodbye
by iLiKeTrUfFlEs4510
Summary: Twoshot. Simply Jack's and Rose's thoughts after Rose got on the door after the Titanic sunk. R&R plz  :
1. Promise Me, Now

The boats had better come soon. I was already shivering, and Rose and I just found a piece of debris floating in the water. I helped her helpless body onto the plank, and then I tried getting on. Rose screamed as the plank almost seeped underwater. I hopped off. I bit my lip as Rose helped herself back on it. I struggled over to where her freezing hands were and clutched onto them. Rose shook like a leaf during a fierce hurricane. Oh, how I wanted the water to be warm! It broke my heart just to see her suffer.

I huddled closer to her, as close as my strength would allow.

"We'll be alright now." I whispered.

We were so close that all we could see was the clouds of air coming from each other's shivering mouths. I looked around and saw everyone screaming and pleading for help. A man nearby was blowing on his whistle. I looked desperately to try to find at least a glimpse of a lifeboat.

"The boats are coming back for us Rose! Just hold on a little bit longer. We'll wait for the suction, but now they'll be coming back." My words huddled together, as I tried convincing her and tried keeping at least her hands warm.

We looked around at more huddling passengers. I looked at Rose as she was terrified. I kept rubbing her hands. I hoped the metal handcuff on my left wrist wouldn't make her colder.

I shivered harder now.

"It's getting quiet." Rose whispered. Her head was laying on my freezing arm.

"It's just gonna take…a couple minutes…to get the…boats organized." I said, struggling with my words. I was too cold…just too cold…

"I don't know about you but….I intend to…write a strongly worded letter to the…White Star Line about all this." I struggled a smile. I tried my hardest to get Rose not as scared, but I could tell it hurt her way too much to smile.

I closed my eyes. Maybe that would slow the shivering.

"I love you Jack." She whispered.

My heart stopped. It hurt my lungs too much to talk, but now I had to say something. Tell her everything that's on my mind.

"Don't you do that." I said as I stared into her terrified eyes. "Don't you say your goodbyes."

"Not yet. Do you understand me?"

"I'm so cold…"

"Listen Rose…" She looked at me.

"You're gonna get out of here….you're g-gonna go on…and you're gonna make…lots of babies. And you're gonna watch 'em grow. You're gonna die an old…an old lady. Warm in her bed. Not here…not this night. Not like this, do you understand me?"

"I can't feel my body…"

I cringed. I was in so much pain. My lungs and heart were frozen cold.

"Winning that ticket, Rose, was the best thing that ever happened to me."

I smiled a little. "It brought me to you. And I'm thankful for that, Rose. I'm thankful."

Rose smiled. I brought my other arm over and I clutched both her hands.

"You must do me this honor. You must promise me…that you'll survive. That..you won't give up."

She sobbed. She still had a faint smile on her face.

"No matter what happens." I continued. She clutched onto my hands tighter.

"No matter how hopeless…" I winced. I didn't have very much hope for myself at this point. "You must promise me now Rose. Never let go of that promise."

"I promise."

"Never let go." I whispered.

"I will never let go, Jack…I'll never let go…"

I smiled and kissed her hands. They felt like a large chunk of ice beneath my lips. I shivered harder and tried to control my breathing. We both looked down as we shook. We closed our eyes.

I felt her body turn around. My shivering slowed. I opened my eyes as much as I could handle and looked at her. She was staring up at the stars. I saw her mouth moving, but I couldn't make out or hear what she was saying.

I knew it was my time. My heart rate slowed and inhaling hurt me. I tried my best to lift up my lips and kiss Rose's hands, but I was just too weak. I clutched her hands with every little but of strength I had and closed my eyes. I let the world close in around me.

Then my breathing stopped completely. Death did not hurt as bad as I thought it would.


	2. Never Let Go

I climbed onto the plank with as much strength as I could feel. All I could feel at this point was how cold I was and how much I wanted Jack and I to live through this. Jack tried climbing onto the plank but pulled us both down. He got off, and I got worried for him. He slowly swam over to face me and clutched onto my hands. I looked at him. He was still beautiful, no matter how cold and wet he was. I shivered very hard.

He huddled closer to me. He was suffering so much…

He whispered to me about how the boats were coming back, and how I should hold on a bit longer. I looked at him with disbelief. He probably didn't see the disbelief…for it hurt to make the slightest expression.

I couldn't even feel the handcuff on his wrist. I looked at his arm. His shirt was drenched and there were little ice crystals on it. I couldn't even imagine how cold he was.

The screaming quieted down. I saw Jack's eyes fluttering and his body shaking too hard and too much.

"It's getting quiet." I whispered. I hoped he'd answer…I had to hear his voice again. I was losing all hope.

He did respond, but it broke my heart to hear his voice skip and struggle.

He tried cracking a joke, and I tried smiling. It lightened the mood a bit. It hurt to smile though. I simply couldn't.

"I love you, Jack." I whispered. I had to tell him now, if not never.

He looked at me with his crystalline eyes. He was freezing. I concluded that if he died, we'd die together. If it counts that I couldn't see my veins and that my breathing was slowing, then I was certainly dying.

"Don't you do that. Don't you say your goodbyes." He said. "Not yet, do you understand me?"

Nothing else was on my mind except how cold I was. "I'm so cold…"

"Listen Rose," I wondered what he was going to tell me. "You're gonna get out of here….you're gonna go on…and you're gonna make lots of babies. And you're gonna watch 'em grow. You're gonna die an old lady, warm in her bed. Not here…not this night. Not like this, do you understand me?"

I thought about what he said. I looked away from him. I couldn't do any of that without Jack. All feeling in any part of my body went away.

"Winning that ticket, Rose; was the best thing that has ever happened to me. It brought me to you. And I'm thankful for that. I'm thankful." I smiled. It sounded just so sweet. It was his version of telling me he loved me. I saw his smile and I was happy. He was perfect.

He clutched both of my hands.

"You must do me this honor. You must promise me that you'll survive, and won't give up."

I clutched his hands tighter.

"No matter how hopeless. You must promise me now, Rose."

"I promise." I told him.

He whispered for me not to let go.

I felt like I was about to cry. "I'll never let go Jack. I'll never let go." He kissed my hands and smiled bigger…but then shook harder. We both shivered in silence for awhile.

I looked at the stars dotting the black sky. Now it was silent. No one was whispering, no one was moving through the water. There was complete silence. I was singing Jack and my song while thinking of our amazing four days together. Meeting him brightened up my life. I couldn't imagine what life would be like if he didn't save me.

I heard something.

It was very faint, and I turned toward the noise. It was muffled, and a light shined in my eyes. A boat.

I shook Jack's hand, trying to wake him up. "Jack."

I petted his hand then and looked at him. "Jack."

I shook him. Why wasn't he waking? "Jack! There's a boat! Jack!"

He still wasn't waking. "Jack…..Jack….Jack!"

No.

I sobbed. "There's a boat, Jack." I sniffed.

I looked at his ice-encrusted eyelashes. He was gone. My hero, my beautiful, amazing hero was gone.

The boat was leaving now. I began to cry. It was all hopeless now. How could I live at all if he was dead? I couldn't live without him. I did before but after meeting him, I couldn't anymore."

I tried dying. I laid there with my eyes closed and tried dying. If I slept, I could die, right? Wait.

I remembered the promise I made to Jack. My eyes shot open.

"Come back." I whispered. "Come back. Come back! Come back." They couldn't hear me. They were too far away.

I knew what I had to do.

Jack's wrist was frozen to the plank. I broke it off and his gorgeous face went under the water. "I'll never let go, I promise." I told his lifeless body as I kissed his hand. I let go of his hand and watched him go under the water. I cried, but knew I had to get the boat to take me to survival.

I remembered the man blowing his whistle an hour before.

I dragged myself off the plank and used all the strength I had left to swim over to him. I tore the whistle from his mouth and blew. It was very faint at first, since I didn't have much air in my lungs. Then I kept blowing, and it grew louder and louder. The boat turned around and saw me. It came over my way as I kept blowing on the whistle, summoning it over.

They saw me and helped me up, where they covered me in warm blankets and told me to try to stay patient and warm. I was sure I would survive now.

I slept and dreamt of my beloved Jack.


End file.
